What is biomass?

Biomass is biological material derived from living, or recently living

organisms. In the context of biomass for energy this is often used
to mean plant based material, but biomass can equally apply to
both animal and vegetable derived material.

Your trash, paper products that can't be recycled into other paper
products and other household waste are normally sent to the
dump. Your trash contains some types of biomass that can be
reused. Recycling biomass for fuel and other uses cuts down on the need for
"landfills" to hold garbage.

This stuff nobody seems to want can be used to produce electricity, heat,
compost material or fuels. Composting material is decayed plant or food products
mixed together in a compost pile and spread to help plants grow.

California produces more than 60 million bone dry tons of biomass each year. Of
this total, five million bone dry tons is now burned to make electricity. This is
biomass from lumber mill wastes, urban wood waste, forest and agricultural
residues and other feed stocks.

If all of it was used, the 60 million tons of biomass in California could make close
to 2,000 megawatts of electricity for California's growing population and
economy. That's enough energy to make electricity for about two million homes!

How biomass works is very simple. The waste wood, tree branches and other
scraps are gathered together in big trucks. The trucks bring the waste from
factories and from farms to a biomass power plant. Here the biomass is dumped
into huge hoppers. This is then fed into a furnace where it is burned. The heat is
used to boil water in the boiler, and the energy in the steam is used to turn
turbines and generators.

Biomass can also be tapped right at the landfill with burning waster products.
When garbage decomposes, it gives off methane gas. You'll remember in
chapters 8 and 9 that natural gas is made up of methane. Pipelines are put into
the landfills and the methane gas can be collected. It is then used in power plants
to make electricity. This type of biomass is called landfill gas.

A similar thing can be done at animal feed lots. In places where lots of animals
are raised, the animals - like cattle, cows and even chickens - produce manure.
When manure decomposes, it also gives off methane gas similar to garbage.
This gas can be burned right at the farm to make energy to run the farm.
Using biomass can help reduce global warming compared to a fossil fuel-
powered plant. Plants use and store carbon dioxide (CO2) when they grow. CO2
stored in the plant is released when the plant material is burned or decays. By
replanting the crops, the new plants can use the CO2 produced by the burned
plants. So using biomass and replanting helps close the carbon dioxide cycle.
However, if the crops are not replanted, then biomass can emit carbon dioxide
that will contribute toward global warming.

So, the use of biomass can be environmentally friendly because the biomass is
reduced, recycled and then reused. It is also a renewable resource because
plants to make biomass can be grown over and over.

Today, new ways of using biomass are still being discovered. One way is to
produce ethanol, a liquid alcohol fuel. Ethanol can be used in special types of
cars that are made for using alcohol fuel instead of gasoline. The alcohol can
also be combined with gasoline. This reduces our dependence on oil - a non-
renewable fossil fuel.
How biomass energy
works.
To many people, the most familiar forms of renewable energy are the
wind and the sun. But biomass (plant material and animal waste)
supplies almost 15 times as much energy in the United States as wind
and solar power combined—and has the potential to supply much
more.
There are a wide variety of biomass energy resources, including tree
and grass crops and forestry, agricultural, and urban wastes. It is the
oldest source of renewable energy known to humans, used since our
ancestors learned the secret of fire.

Biomass is a renewable energy source because the energy it contains

comes from the sun. Through the process of photosynthesis,
chlorophyll in plants captures the sun's energy by converting carbon
dioxide from the air and water from the ground into carbohydrates,
complex compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.
When these carbohydrates are burned, they turn back into carbon
dioxide and water and release the sun's energy they contain. In this
way, biomass functions as a sort of natural battery for storing solar
energy. As long as biomass is produced sustainably—with only as
much used as is grown—the battery will last indefinitely.

From the time of Prometheus to the present, the most common way to
capture the energy from biomass was to burn it, to make heat, steam,
and electricity. But advances in recent years have shown that there
are more efficient and cleaner ways to use biomass. It can be
converted into liquid fuels, for example, or cooked in a process called
"gasification" to produce combustible gases. And certain crops such as
switchgrass and willow trees are especially suited as "energy crops,"
plants grown specifically for energy generation.
Why use biomass?
Biomass is a renewable, low carbon fuel that is already widely, and
often economically available throughout the UK. Its production and
use also brings additional environmental and social benefits.
Correctly managed, biomass is a sustainable fuel that can deliver a
significant reduction in net carbon emissions when compared with
fossil fuels.

The problem with burning fossil fuels

Burning any carbon based fuel converts carbon to carbon dioxide. Unless it is captured and

stored, this carbon dioxide is usually released to the atmosphere. Burning fossil fuels releases

carbon that was removed from the atmosphere millions of years ago by animal and plant life.

This leads to increased concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

What is the Greenhouse Effect?

Carbon dioxide is one of a number of gases that transmit the visible light incident on the Earth
from the Sun, but absorb the infra-red radiation emitted by the warm surface of the Earth,
preventing its loss into space. This keeps the Earth around 33ºC warmer than it would
otherwise be, and is known as the Greenhouse Effect as it is the same effect achieved by the
sheets of glass in a greenhouse.

Greenhouse gasses

Gases that have the above property are known as Greenhouse Gases (GHG), and include:

• Carbon dioxide (CO2)

• Methane (CH4)
• Nitrous oxide (N2O)
• Water vapour (H2O).

Global warming
The increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere since the industrial
revolution and the resulting widespread use of fossil fuels, gives rise to an increase in the
greenhouse effect, and an increase in the average global temperature, known as Global
Warming. This is predicted to lead to widespread, unpredictable changes to the global climate.

Using biomass to achieve a carbon balance

The combustion (direct or indirect) of biomass as a fuel also returns

CO2 to the atmosphere. However this carbon is part of the current
carbon cycle: it was absorbed during the growth of the plant over the
previous few months or years and, provided the land continues to
support growing plant material, a sustainable balance is maintained
between carbon emitted and absorbed.

(a) As trees in the energy plantation grow, they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

(b) During photosynthesis the trees store carbon in their woody tissue and oxygen is released
back to the atmosphere.

(c) At harvest, woodfuel is transported from the plantation to the heat or power generating
plant.

(d) As the wood is burned at the heat or power generating plant the carbon stored in the
woody tissue combines with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide, this is emitted back to the
atmosphere in the exhaust gases.

The amount of additional biomass that grows over the course of a year in a given area is
known as the annual increment. Provided the amount consumed is less than the annual
increment its use can be sustainable and biomass can be considered a low carbon fuel and
biomass CO2 absorption and emission is in balance.
For forestry in the UK, the annual timber increment is of the order of 20 million tonnes. On
top of this is the increment of all the agricultural crops and other vegetation.

Why biomass is not carbon neutral

It is not, however, strictly true to say that biomass is 'carbon neutral'.
No fuel or energy source is. It is a low carbon fuel, but carbon is
emitted, usually as a result of energy use, as a result of planting,
harvesting, processing, transport and often fertilizer and pesticide
production and administration.

Benefits of using biomass as a sustainable fuel

Correctly managed, biomass is a sustainable fuel that can both offer a

significant reduction in net carbon emissions compared with fossil fuels
and also many ancillary benefits:

• Biomass can be sourced locally, from within the UK, on an

indefinite basis, contributing to security of supply.
• UK sourced biomass can offer local business opportunities and
support the rural economy.
• The establishment of local networks of production and usage,
allows financial and environmental costs of transport to be
minimized. There is no region in the UK that cannot be a
producer of biomass, although some have greater productivities
than others.
• Woodlands, forestry and agriculture are generally perceived to
be an environmentally and socially attractive amenity by the UK
population, providing opportunities for recreation and leisure
activities.
• Many biomass fuels generate lower levels of such atmospheric
pollutants as sulphur dioxide, that contributes to 'acid rain'.
Modern biomass combustion systems are highly sophisticated,
offering combustion efficiency and emission levels comparable
with the best fossil fuel boilers.
• Biomass residues, arisings, co-products and waste not used for
energy, or some other application may be consigned to landfill.
This imposes costs for disposal, additional burden on limited
landfill resources, and also contributes to global warming by the
creation of landfill gas, including a high proportion of methane
 (CH4), a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent that carbon
dioxide.

Types of Biomass
There are many types of plants in the world, and many ways they can be used
for energy production. In general there are two approaches: growing plants
specifically for energy use, and using the residues from plants that are used for
other things. The best approaches vary from region to region according to
climate, soils, geography, population, and so on.

Energy Crops
Energy crops, also called "power crops," could be grown on farms in potentially
very large quantities, just like food crops. Trees and grasses, particularly those
that are native to a region, are the best crops for energy, but other, less
agriculturally sustainable crops such as corn tend to be used for energy
purposes at present.

Trees. In addition to growing very fast, some trees will grow back after being
cut off close to the ground, a feature called "coppicing." Coppicing allows trees
to be harvested every three to eight years for 20 or 30 years before replanting.
These trees, also called "short-rotation woody crops," grow as much as 40 feet
high in the years between harvests. In the cooler, wetter regions of the
northern United States, varieties of poplar, maple, black locust, and willow are
the best choice. In the warmer Southeast, sycamore and sweetgum are best,
while in the warmest parts of Florida and California, eucalyptus is likely to
grow well.
Grasses. Thin-stemmed perennial grasses used to blanket the prairies of the
United States before the settlers replaced them with corn and beans.
Switchgrass, big bluestem, and other native varieties grow quickly in many
parts of the country, and can be harvested for up to 10 years before replanting.
Thick-stemmed perennials like sugar cane and elephant grass can be grown in
hot and wet climates like those of Florida and Hawaii.
Other crops. A third type of grass includes annuals commonly grown for food,
such as corn and sorghum. Since these must be replanted every year, they
require much closer management and greater use of fertilizers, pesticides, and
energy. While corn currently provides most of the liquid fuel from biomass in
the United States, there are more sustainable ways to produce energy from
plants.
Oil plants. Plants such as soybeans and sunflowers produce oil, which can be
used to make fuels. Like corn, though, these crops require intensive
management and may not be sustainable in the longer term. A rather different
type of oil crop with great promise for the future is microalgae. These tiny
aquatic plants have the potential to grow extremely fast in the hot, shallow,
saline water found in some lakes in the desert Southwest. In 2004, Green Fuel
Technologies, a Massachusetts-based company, harnessed the ability to capture
and use carbon dioxide emissions from power plants as a means to stimulate
algae growth. The algae is then converted into a various range of fuels. This
technology, known as Emissions-to-biofuels, is demonstrating great promise and
has the potential to transform the way utilities produce energy.

Biomass Residues
After plants have been used for other purposes, the leftover wastes can be
used for energy. The forestry, agricultural, and manufacturing industries
generate plant and animal wastes in large quantities. City waste, in the form of
garbage and sewage, is also a source for biomass energy.
Forestry. Forestry wastes are the largest source of heat and electricity now,
since lumber, pulp, and paper mills use them to power their factories. One
large source of wood waste is tree tops and branches normally left behind in
the forest after timber-harvesting operations. Some of these must be left
behind to recycle necessary nutrients to the forest and to provide habitat for
birds and mammals, but some could be collected for energy production. Other
sources of wood waste are sawdust and bark from sawmills, shavings produced
during the manufacture of furniture, and organic sludge (or "liquor") from pulp
and paper mills.
Agriculture. As with the forestry industry, most crop residues are left in the
field. Some should be left there to maintain cover against erosion and to
recycle nutrients, but some could be collected for fuel. Animal farms produce
many "wet wastes" in the form of manure. These wastes are commonly spread
on fields, not just for their nutrient value, but for disposal. Runoff from over
fertilization threatens rural lakes and streams and can contaminate drinking
water. Processing crops into food also produces many usable wastes.
Cities. People generate biomass wastes in many forms, including "urban wood
waste" (such as shipping pallets and leftover construction wood), the
biodegradable portion of garbage (paper, food, leather, yard waste, etc.) and
the gas given off by landfills when waste decomposes. Even our sewage can be
used as energy; some sewage treatment plants capture the methane given off
by sewage and burn it for heat and power, reducing air pollution and emissions
of global warming gases.
Converting Biomass
to Energy
The old way of converting biomass to energy, practiced for thousands
of years, is simply to burn it to produce heat. This is still how most
biomass is put to use, in the United States and elsewhere. The heat
can be used directly, for heating, cooking, and industrial processes, or
indirectly, to produce electricity. The problems with burning biomass
are that much of the energy is wasted and that it can cause some
pollution if it is not carefully controlled.

An approach that may increase the use of biomass energy in the short
term is to burn it mixed with coal in power plants—a process known as
"co-firing." Biomass feedstock can substitute up to 20 percent of the
coal used in a boiler. The benefits associated with biomass co-firing
include lower operating costs, reductions of harmful emissions, and
greater energy security. Co-firing is also one of the more economically
viable ways to increase biomass power generation today. In 2000, the
Chariton Valley Biomass Project, a joint effort including Alliant Energy,
the U.S. Department of Energy, and local biomass groups, began
testing the co-firing of switchgrass with coal at Alliant's Ottumwa
Generating Station in Iowa. The project has proved so successful that
in 2005, Alliant received permission to build a permanent biomass
processing facility at the plant, capable of co-firing up to five percent
of its energy with switchgrass.
A number of non-combustion methods are available for converting
biomass to energy. These processes convert raw biomass into a variety
of gaseous, liquid, or solid fuels that can then be used directly in a
power plant for energy generation. The carbohydrates in biomass,
which are comprised of oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen, can be broken
down into a variety of chemicals, some of which are useful fuels. This
conversion can be done in three ways:

• Thermo chemical. When plant matter is heated but not burned, it

breaks down into various gases, liquids, and solids. These
products can then be further processed and refined into useful
fuels such as methane and alcohol. Biomass gasifiers capture
methane released from the plants and burn it in a gas turbine to
 produce electricity. Another approach is to take these fuels and
run them through fuel cells, converting the hydrogen-rich fuels
into electricity and water, with few or no emissions.
• Biochemical. Bacteria, yeasts, and enzymes also break down
carbohydrates. Fermentation, the process used to make wine,
changes biomass liquids into alcohol, a combustible fuel. A
similar process is used to turn corn into grain alcohol or ethanol,
which is mixed with gasoline to make gasohol. Also, when
bacteria break down biomass, methane and carbon dioxide are
produced. This methane can be captured, in sewage treatment
plants and landfills, for example, and burned for heat and power.
• Chemical. Biomass oils, like soybean and canola oil, can be
chemically converted into a liquid fuel similar to diesel fuel, and
into gasoline additives. Cooking oil from restaurants, for
example, has been used as a source to make "biodiesel" for
trucks. (A better way to produce biodiesel is to use algae as a
source of oils.)

In 1998, the first U.S. commercial scale biomass

gasification demonstration plant based on the
SilvaGas process began at the McNeil Power
Station in Burlington, Vermont. The SilvaGas
process, a particular form of biomass
gasification, indirectly heats the biomass using
heated sand in order to produce a medium Btu
gas. The McNeil power station is capable of
generating 50 MW of power from local wood
waste products.
One persistent myth about biomass is that it takes more energy to
produce fuels from biomass than the fuels themselves contain. In other
words, that it is a net energy loser. In fact, most of the studies done
over the past 10 years confirm that the production of ethanol has a
positive energy balance. According to a 2002 U.S. Department of
Agriculture study, technological advances in ethanol conversion and
efficiency increases in farm production have caused the net energy
value (NEV) of corn ethanol to increase gradually over time. This study
states that every British thermal unit (BTU) of energy used in the
production of ethanol leads to a 34 percent energy gain.
Nonetheless, we could do much better. Corn is one of the most energy-
intensive crops, and current corn-based ethanol production uses just
the kernels from the corn plant, and not even the entire kernel. By
making ethanol from energy crops, we could obtain between four and
five times the energy that we put in, and by making electricity we
could get perhaps 10 times or more. In the future, to make a truly
sustainable biomass energy system, we would have to replace fossil
fuels with biomass or other renewable fuels to plant and harvest the
crops.

Another important consideration with biomass energy systems is that

biomass contains less energy per pound than fossil fuels. This means
that raw biomass typically can't be cost-effectively shipped more than
about 50 miles before it is converted into fuel or energy. It also means
that biomass energy systems are likely to be smaller than their fossil
fuel counterparts, because it is hard to gather and process more than
this quantity of fuel in one place. This has the advantage that local,
rural communities—and perhaps even individual farms—will be able to
design energy systems that are self-sufficient, sustainable, and
perfectly adapted to their own needs.
Environmental
Benefits of
Biomass
Biomass energy brings numerous environmental benefits—reducing air and
water pollution, increasing soil quality and reducing erosion, and improving
wildlife habitat.

Biomass reduces air pollution by being a part of the carbon cycle (see the box
below), reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 90 percent compared with fossil
fuels. Sulfur dioxide and other pollutants are also reduced substantially.

Water pollution is reduced because fewer fertilizers and pesticides are used to
grow energy crops, and erosion is reduced. Moreover, agricultural researchers
in Iowa have discovered that by planting grasses or poplar trees in buffers along
waterways, runoff from corn fields is captured, making streams cleaner.

In contrast to high-yield food crops that pull nutrients from the soil, energy
crops actually improve soil quality. Prairie grasses, with their deep roots, build
up topsoil, putting nitrogen and other nutrients into the ground. Since they are
replanted only every 10 years, there is minimal plowing that causes soil to
erode.

Finally, biomass crops can create better wildlife habitat than food crops. Since
they are native plants, they attract a greater variety of birds and small
mammals. They improve the habitat for fish by increasing water quality in
nearby streams and ponds. And since they have a wider window of time to be
harvested, energy crop harvests can be timed to avoid critical nesting or
breeding seasons.
Fossil fuels, on the other hand, are made of plants that grew millions of years
ago. The carbon they absorbed then is released now when the fossil fuels are
burned. There are no extra plants to absorb that carbon, so the cycle becomes
out of balance. There are two different carbon cycles in operation now: the
natural one between plants and the air, which is in balance, and the human-
made cycle where carbon is pulled from Earth and emitted into the
atmosphere.

All of these benefits are described in comparison with food crops such as corn,
wheat, and soybeans. Compared to undisturbed natural habitat, energy crops
are not as good. But the strength of biomass is that it is much closer to the
natural world than our modern industrial agriculture. The harvest of prairie
grasses is not so different than the fires that periodically swept across the
plains. Plantations of poplar and maple trees may not be the same as varied
forests, but are certainly closer than pesticide-laden monocrops. Nonetheless,
the environmental benefits of biomass hinge on whether energy crops are
managed with sustainable agricultural practices. Just like food crops, they can
be mishandled, with productivity increased by greater chemical inputs. If
biomass energy turns out to have unforeseen environmental effects, we must
be willing to alter our methods to reduce these effects.

Riding the Carbon Cycle: The carbon cycle is nature's way of moving carbon
around to support life on Earth. Carbon dioxide is the most common vehicle
for carbon, where one carbon atom is bound to two oxygen atoms. Plant
photosynthesis breaks the carbon dioxide in two, keeping the carbon to
form the carbohydrates that make up the plant, and putting the oxygen into
the air. When the plant dies or is burned, it gives its carbon back to the air,
which is then reabsorbed by other plants.
 Conclusions
In addition to the many
environmental benefits, biomass
offers many economic and
energy security benefits. By
growing our fuels at home, we
reduce the need to import oil and
reduce our exposure to
disruptions in that supply.
Farmers and rural areas gain a
valuable new outlet for their
products. Biomass already
supports 66,000 jobs in the
United States; if the DOE's goal
is realized, the industry would
support three times as many jobs.

Biomass
& the Environment
Each Form of Biomass Has a Different Impact
Biomass pollutes the air when it is burned, but not as much as fossil fuels do. Burning biomass
fuels produces small amounts of pollutants such as sulfur that can cause acid rain. When burned,
biomass releases carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.
But when biomass crops are grown, a nearly equivalent amount of carbon dioxide is captured
through photosynthesis. Each of the different forms and uses of biomass impact the environment
in a different way.
 Panicum Virgatum (Switchgrass) Being Grown

Burning Wood
Because the smoke from burning wood contains pollutants like carbon monoxide and particulate
matter, some areas of the country won't allow the use of wood-burning fireplaces or stoves on
high pollution days. A special clean-burning technology can be added to wood-burning fireplaces
and stoves so that they can be used even on days with the worst pollution.

Burning Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) or Wood Waste

Burning municipal solid waste (MSW, or garbage) and wood waste to produce energy means that
less of it has to get buried in landfills. Like coal plants, waste-to-energy plants produce air
pollution when the fuel is burned to produce steam or electricity. Burning garbage releases the
chemicals and substances found in the waste. Some of these chemicals can be dangerous to
people, the environment, or both, if they are not properly controlled.

Plants that burn waste to make electricity must use technology to prevent harmful gases and
particles from coming out of their smoke stacks. The particles that are filtered out are added to
the ash that is removed from the bottom of the furnace. Because the ash may contain harmful
chemicals and metals, it must be disposed of carefully.
Controlling Air Emissions
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) applies strict environmental rules to waste-to-energy
plants. The EPA requires waste-to-energy plants to use anti-pollution devices, including
scrubbers, fabric filters, and electrostatic precipitators.
The EPA wants to ensure that harmful gases and particles don't go out the smokestack into the
air. Scrubbers clean chemical gas emissions by spraying a liquid into the gas stream to neutralize
the acids. Fabric filters and electrostatic precipitators remove particles from the emissions. The
particles are then mixed with the ash that is removed from the bottom of the waste-to-energy
plant's furnace when it is cleaned.

A waste-to-energy furnace burns at such high temperatures (1,800 to 2,000°F) that many
complex chemicals naturally break down into simpler, less harmful compounds. This chemical
change is a kind of built-in anti-pollution device.

Disposing of Ash
Another challenge is the disposal of the ash after combustion. Ash can contain high
concentrations of various metals that were present in the original waste. Textile dyes, printing
inks, and ceramics, for example, contain the metals lead and cadmium.

Separating waste before combustion can solve part of the problem. Because batteries are the
largest source of lead and cadmium in the solid waste stream, they should be taken out of the mix
and not burned.

The EPA tests ash from waste-to-energy plants to make sure it's not hazardous. The test looks
for chemicals and metals that would contaminate ground water by trickling through a landfill. Ash
that is safe can be reused for many applications.

About one-third of all the ash produced is used in landfills as a daily or final cover layer, to build
roads, to make cement blocks, and even to make artificial reefs for marine animals.
Collecting Landfill Gas or Biogas
Biogas is a gas composed mainly of methane and carbon dioxide that forms as a result of
biological processes in sewage treatment plants, waste landfills, and livestock manure
management systems. Methane is one of the greenhouse gases associated with global climate
change.1 Many of these facilities capture and burn the biogas for heat or electricity generation.
Burning methane is actually beneficial because methane is a stronger greenhouse gas than
carbon dioxide. The electricity generated from biogas is considered "green power" in many states
and may be used to meet state renewable portfolio standards (RPS).

Biodiesel
Biodiesel was the fuel used in the first diesel engines. Compared to petroleum diesel, biodiesel

combustion produces less sulfur oxides, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and unburned and

other hydrocarbons, but more nitrogen oxide. Similar to ethanol, biodiesel use may result in lower

net-carbon dioxide emissions if the sources of biodiesel are oils made from plants, which absorb

carbon dioxide.
Gasoline requires extra processing to reduce evaporative emissions before it is blended with
ethanol. Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, forms when ethanol burns, but growing plants like
corn or sugarcane to make ethanol may offset these carbon dioxide emissions because plants
absorb carbon dioxide as they grow.

Ethanol

Ethanol was one of the first fuels used in automobiles, and now nearly all gasoline sold in the
United States contains some ethanol. The Federal government has set a renewable fuel standard
(RFS) that mandates increasing biofuels use through 2022, most of which will probably be
ethanol. Ethanol and gasoline fuel mixtures burn cleaner and have higher octane than pure
gasoline, but have higher "evaporative emissions" from fuel tanks and dispensing equipment.
These evaporative emissions contribute to the formation of harmful, ground-level ozone and
smog.